Area 51 - First Look Preview

Sounding a bit like it has been pulled straight out of the X-Files TV series, Area 51 is all about uncovering the truth behind the US Government's conspiracy surrounding Area 51. This First-Person Shooter allows gamers to infiltrate the U.S. Government’s top-secret and heavily guarded military institution.<br><br>Area 51 will take the player through eight massive levels within a clandestine government complex. Combining intense combat, exploration, adventure, discovery, and puzzle solving. Blending graphic violence with science fiction, as Lt. Cross, the player will discover secret areas and items, including the answers to this rumored government conspiracy. Area 51 is based on a cryptic tale conceived and developed by a professional military sci-fi scriptwriter, and introduces unique three-character squad-based gameplay with a Dynamic Character Switching system.<br><br>As well as a gripping storyline, the creation of this game has pulled in Stan Winston, renowned creature designer, who contributed to Area 51's intrigue by creating artwork of some of the disturbing alien characters and mutations featured in the game. Stan, the four-time Academy Award winner, is responsible for designing many of the most enduring creatures of the big screen, including the dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park', the extraterrestrial monstrosities of 'Aliens' and 'Edward Scissorhands'.<br><br>To get the most complete insight into this exciting project we spoke with the Producer, Roger Balettie.<br><br>The Inevitable Area 51 team has many years of gaming experience behind it. Team members have worked on previous Inevitable titles (Tribes: Aerial Assault, Defender, and The Hobbit), as well as numerous titles for previous companies ranging from first-person shooters to platform games across PCs and all the major consoles. Expertise also includes a couple of guys on the team with Hollywood movie experience.<br><br>Sci fi buffs will know about the rumours and mysteries that surround Area 51, but like any appealing subject matter it is hard to ascertain what is fact and what is fiction, nevertheless with plenty of material generated it must have been hard for the team to know where to begin?<br><br>“There is such a wealth of material available, it’s been hard to choose which parts of the legend that ‘IS’ ‘Area 51’ to include! There are extremely passionate groups that believe that not only does Area 51 house classified government projects, but also alien secrets! We’ve been able to use a lot of the more ‘popular’ legends and fold them into the overall story arc that we’re presenting throughout the game.”<br><br>“We’ve also had contact with an odd little fellow named ‘Edgar’, who seems to know an awful lot about what’s happening in the base. Although we’ve never met Edgar face-to-face, there’s something … well … ‘otherworldly’ about him. Hopefully, we’ll get more out of him in the future!”<br><br>“Area 51 pulls the player into the depth of the conspiracies behind the secret military base. As Lt. Nick Cross, a US Army Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) specialist, who, with his team, must investigate the mysterious viral outbreak that has severed communications with the base. During his investigation, Lt. Cross stumbles across alien creatures and becomes infected with a biological mutagen that begins to affect his very humanity. To save the Earth (and himself!), Lt. Cross must fight to solve the enigma of Area 51.”<br><br>Area 51 combines elements of precision sniper attacks and hand-to-hand combat, and takes three distinct characters on individual and cooperative missions.<br><br>To successfully carry out missions, accomplish goals and ultimately complete the game, players must utilize each character's attributes to unleash destruction on aliens while progressing through alien-inspired levels and mysterious settings.<br><br>“The puzzles set before the player will range in excitement and complexity while balanced against a pure combat experience that we hope players will be wanting to relive again and again!”<br><br>“There are several very distinct areas in the Area 51 game. Without giving away too much of the story, we can divulge that the player definitely gets ‘behind the scenes’ of the military establishment at Area 51 and confirms some of the long-standing conspiracy theories! While the military complex is very realistic, what follows afterwards is shaping up to be the best part of the game. <br><br>“As a tease, though… what would ‘Area 51’ be without our little friends, the Grays?” <br><br>As well as a rip roaring storyline and online facilities for the game, the team firstly summarised Stan Winston’s input and interaction with the team as well as their technology focus.<br><br>“Stan helped the entire team get started when we were in the conceptual phase. His prototype drawings have either been incorporated exactly or have been the inspiration for some of the creatures the player will encounter. He definitely has a unique style, and we’re sure that Area 51 will live up to his reputation for creating scary and engaging monsters and aliens!”<br><br>“There is a lot of new technology that we are bringing into the game. We believe that we have created a look that is unsurpassed on the PS2, and we are trying to exceed the quality of the best Xbox shooters! Preliminary feedback we’ve received, from not only our publisher (Midway) but other independent views has said the same!”<br><br>“Our rendering engine is pushing the PS2 in ways we never originally imagined. We are doing more passes per surface than some other ‘super-hyped’ competition games! Our environments are extremely complex and pull the user into the world, and to help balance the high polygon counts of the environment, we have implemented a complex LOD system for our characters.”<br><br>“A lot of the AI work we did for ‘Tribes: Aerial Assault’ has been carried over to ‘Area 51’. The NPC AI not only acts intelligently, but it also looks smart while doing it, which is the hard part. The hope is to immerse the player in a real environment and keep him there.”<br><br>“We are doing our physics system all in-house. We evaluated the 3rd party libraries, but we decided to use the talent we had here to do a lot of the physics that we wanted, like cloth, ragdoll, IK, etc.” <br><br>The player will interact and speak with NPCs throughout the game, but will also be in contact with a surface member of his team. Through these NPCs, the player will be given pertinent information regarding the goings on inside Area 51 as well as objective information. <br><br>Cut scenes will be used to set up certain scenarios or show special events as they take place in the game. For the most part, the game is linear but there will be extra side-objectives that the player has the option to complete outside of the main storyline.<br><br>The team has also placed a high premium on the overall audio experience in the game. The environment, while looking fantastic, will also have an audible ‘life’ of its own. In addition, the team is contracted with Chris Vrenna (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) to write the musical score that will make sure that Area 51 is a distinctive experience on all fronts.<br><br>“Multiplayer and online play will be included with the project when it ships! Inevitable has a strong experience base with online console games, so we’re going to do everything possible to make the world-wide experience great for everyone!”<br><br>“It’s always exciting to work on online functionality as it allows you to extend the life of your game beyond the single player experience.”